What To Do With the Hell Strip?

The dry, shady, “Hell Strip” between the sidewalk and street.

That little strip of earth between the sidewalk and the street, I have heard called the “Hell Strip.” The irrigation system fails to water it, neighbor’s dogs use it for conducting their business, and parked cars and visitor’s feet challenge any plant growth. In serious shade, what a problem it is to find anything that will grow successfully. Unmulched, the strip quickly loses all organic material, and you have an unsightly mess of rubble and weeds.

I mulch my shady strip with pine straw and pave the access points with simple pavers. It is a place I can choose to neglect, as long as I can keep it munched.

How have you dealt with your street curb Hell Strip?

Pavers fill street and parking access points in the “Hell Strip” between sidewalk and street curb.

Mike and Paula Rushing have been gardening in St. Clair county since 1990, and In Forest Park since 2007. A Jefferson County Master Gardener and course instructor at Master Gardening classes, Mike also volunteers weekly at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.